Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (BHF) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good morning, and welcome to the Brighthouse Financial, Inc. 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. I would now like to turn the conference over to Burt Arrington, Corporate Secretary. Please go ahead.

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. I am Burt Arrington, the Corporate Secretary of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. I am joined virtually today by Chuck Chaplin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Brighthouse Financial, Inc., each of the directors of Brighthouse and Brighthouse's senior executives. I would like to state that our discussion during today's meeting may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Brighthouse Financial's actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of risks and uncertainties described from time to time in Brighthouse's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Information discussed at today's meeting speaks only as of today, June 10, 2021, and Brighthouse undertakes no obligation to update any information discussed during today's meeting. During this meeting, we may also discuss certain financial measures used by management that are not based on generally accepted accounting principles, also known as non-GAAP measures. Reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures on a historical basis to the most directly comparable GAAP measures and related definitions may be found on the Investor Relations portion of our website and in our filings with the SEC. A recording of the annual meeting will be available to the public on our annual meeting website at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/bhf2021 and to our 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Personal recording of the annual meeting is prohibited. I am now going to turn the meeting over to Chuck who will preside. Mr. Chairman?

Thank you, Burt. The time is now 8:01 a.m., and I call this meeting to order. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I'd like to express our hope that you and your families and your circles of concern are safe and healthy. As we explained in our proxy statement, out of concern for the health of our stockholders and other meeting participants, the Board determined to hold our 2021 annual meeting as a virtual meeting. We appreciate your participation in this meeting. In accordance with our bylaws, I will act as Chairman of the meeting. And Burt Arrington, our Corporate Secretary, will act as Secretary of the meeting. Before I turn to floor over to Burt to review some procedural matters, I'd like to take this opportunity to recognize and thank Meg McCarthy, who is not standing for reelection and will accordingly conclude her service as a director as of this annual meeting. Meg has served as a director of Brighthouse since November 15, 2018. Meg has been integral to the Board's oversight of Brighthouse's IT and cybersecurity functions, and has brought wisdom and insight to our boardroom. We thank her for her service and contributions to Brighthouse, and we wish her very well in the future. I will now turn it back to Burt.

Thank you, Chuck. An agenda for this meeting has been posted to the annual meeting website. As you can see on the agenda, following the presentation of the proposals for the stockholder vote, we will entertain questions from stockholders with respect to their proposals. Following our CEO's presentation, we will address any general stockholder questions as are germane to the meeting. Stockholders may enter their questions in the dialogue box that appears on your screen. We have posted to our website the procedures and the rules of conduct for the meeting, and we will ask all stockholders to abide by those rules. I will now turn it back to Chuck.

Great. I will now introduce the current Directors of Brighthouse Financial, Inc., who are all in attendance and participating in this meeting. Irene Chang Britt. Irene is the Chair of our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and also serves on the compensation and human capital and investment committees. Steve Hooley. Steve joined our Board in August of 2020, and he serves on the Audit and Investment Committees. Eileen Mallesch. Eileen is the Chair of the Investment Committee and also serves on the Compensation and Human Capital, and Nominating and Corporate Governance committees. Meg McCarthy. Meg serves on the Audit and Finance and Risk Committee, and as previously noted, is not standing for reelection. Diane Offereins. Diane is the Chair of the Compensation and Human Capital Committee and also serves on the Nominating and Corporate Governance and Finance and Risk Committees. Pat Shouvlin. Pat is the Chair of the Audit Committee and also serves on the investment and executive committees. Eric Steigerwalt. Eric is our President and Chief Executive Officer and also a member of the Board. And finally, Paul Wetzel. Paul served on the Compensation and Human Capital, Finance and Risk, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees. More detail about each of our directors is included in your proxy materials. I will now introduce the senior executives of Brighthouse Financial, Inc., each of whom is in attendance today: Christine DeBiase, Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel; Shelly Hemler, Executive Vice President and Chief Auditor; Jeff Hughes, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer; Vanda Huff, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer; Myles Lambert, Executive Vice President and Chief Distribution and Marketing Officer; Phil Melville, Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer; Conor Murphy, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer; John Rosenthal, Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer; and Ed Spehar, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Also attending this meeting are John England, and Keith Decroy of Deloitte & Touche LLP, our independent accounting firm. Although Deloitte has indicated that it does not wish to make a statement, John and Keith are available to answer any appropriate questions that arise during the general question-and-answer period. Okay. So Burt, back to you.

Thanks, Chuck. I will now report on a few meeting formalities. Victor Latessa of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. is serving as the inspector of election for this meeting. Vic has taken his oath as inspector of election. I can confirm that Broadridge Financial Solutions has provided us with an affidavit attesting that the mailing of the notice of this meeting to the stockholders commenced on April 28, 2021. The mailing was completed April 29, 2021. The affidavit has been filed with the records of the company. I also confirm that the list of stockholders as of April 13, 2021, record date for this meeting, was made available for inspection by stockholders in accordance with Delaware law and is currently available for inspection on the meeting portal. The holders of a majority of the shares outstanding at the record date are present either by participation in this annual meeting or by proxy. And accordingly, a quorum is present at this meeting. Chuck, back to you.

Okay. Thank you, Burt. We'll now turn to the agenda for the meeting. There are 3 proposals presented for stockholder vote. Each of the proposals is described in detail in the proxy materials that were provided to stockholders. We will present all of the proposals, following which stockholders will have an opportunity to ask questions via the online portal. We will also address any general questions after we complete the official business of the meeting. So I now declare the polls open. Burt, if you would, please, review the proposals for action at this annual meeting and then provide the preliminary vote results.

Thanks, Chuck. The first item of business is proposal 1, the election of the following 8 directors for a 1-year term expiring at the 2022 annual meeting: Irene Chang Britt, Chuck Chaplin, Steve Hooley, Eileen Mallesch, Diane Offereins, Pat Shouvlin, Eric Steigerwalt, and Paul Wetzel. The Board of Directors has recommended that stockholders vote for each of the 8 nominees. The next item of business is proposal 2, the ratification of the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as Brighthouse's independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal year 2021. The Board of Directors has recommended that stockholders vote for this proposal. The next item of business is proposal 3, an advisory vote to approve the compensation paid to Brighthouse's named executive officers, which we refer to as the say-on-pay vote. The Board of Directors has recommended that stockholders vote for this proposal. I'm now going to -- Chuck, we're going to review some questions and answers that relate to the proposals. So the following questions and comments were presubmitted by shareholders and will be read here verbatim without alteration. Chuck, the first item relates to the Board philosophy. I will read it now: I found it impossible to find out the true management philosophy of the proposed directors. It is imperative for an investor to completely as possible to understand the values and what direction the proposed directors would take. Don't make it so hard. Simple yet detailed as needed. Thanks.

Well, to be clear, the Board does not manage the company. By law, the Board's job is to oversee management of the company on behalf of the stockholders. However, the Board reviews and consults with management on its strategy to drive long-term value creation. As to the Board's values, we share and support the company's values of consideration of our stakeholders by implementing a strategy to deliver sustainable growth, by fostering diversity, equity and inclusion, and by being a responsible corporate citizen. You can find a clear description of the company's values on our website, including in our new Corporate Responsibility section.

Okay. Thanks, Chuck. Next up, we have 2 questions that were presubmitted, and they relate generally to Board size and composition. So I'm going to read the first. Why are there so many directors on the Board? It seems a large expense than fewer people, if confident enough to handle the leadership. Too many companies do this, and it is costly to stockholders and the company. Thank you for letting me express my thoughts. Secondly. I noticed this year, and if I recall correctly in previous years, the number of directors running for office is the same number of votes we are asked to cast. In other words, we are asked to vote for 8, and yet there are only 8 running. So they are obviously a shoo-in. Why do you not have any real choices for director? Shouldn't there be at least 9 at minimum?

Right. We believe that the current size of the Board is appropriate and allows us to effectively oversee the company. As to the number of directors that we nominate, the Board annually considers the number of people to be nominated for election to the Board. Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee leads our nomination process, which is described in our proxy statement on Page 25. As to the point about being shoo-in, under our majority voting policy, any nominee who does not receive a majority of the votes cast must tender his or her resignation for consideration by the Board. Finally, the number of our directors is tied for the lowest among companies in our comparator group.

All right. Thanks, Chuck. Next, we have a presubmitted comment in regards to Board diversity and in reads: No need to list demographics of proposed Board of Directors. Get off the bandwagon and earn money for stockholders.

Okay. Thanks for that. We are proud of the diversity of our Board, which currently has 4 women, including one Asian woman and myself, who's an African-American. And we remain committed to having a diverse Board. We believe a diverse Board is better able to effectively oversee the company on behalf of shareholders. Disclosing the demographic information of our directors provides our shareholders and other stakeholders with transparency in this important area.

Okay. Thanks, Chuck. Next up, we have a question in regard to director qualifications. It reads: Why are there only 3 proposed directors who have nothing beyond a BA or BS? I voted for the 3 Directors who have an MBA, and that's the end.

Okay. The Board does not believe that an advanced degree should be a prerequisite for serving as a director. Our Board is composed of directors who possess a broad range of skills, experiences and perspectives.

Thanks, Chuck. Next is a question in regards to director qualifications and specifically cybersecurity. And it reads: What is the Board's plan to address the shortcoming of cybersecurity knowledge within their makeup? Cybersecurity affects all businesses and must be considered a crucial management skill in this age.

This Board takes cybersecurity very seriously. We are pleased with the overall skills and experience of our Board. And I note that as described in the proxy, we have 2 directors with disclosed cybersecurity skills that are up for election. Also, as we said in the proxy, the Board regularly self-evaluates its composition and when appropriate, seeks directors with the skills and experience it needs to help it effectively oversee the company.

All right. Thanks, Chuck. Next up, we have 3 presubmitted questions regarding director compensation. So I'm going to read each now. First, how many hours have the Board members physically put in during the pandemic? How much per hour does their compensation work out to? Second, why am I asked to approve compensation for directors when I'm not told what the amount of the compensation is? Third, compensation for Steigerwalt is outrageous, also other Directors. I know they must do things between meetings in company's financial, but they did not meet their target and should not get more than minimum wage for that. No excuses, please. Even if they did reach target, that is too much compensation. Some funds could be used to upstock GAAP value.

I can assure you that our directors all put in the time and effort necessary to effectively oversee management of the company. To be clear, shareholders are not being asked to approve director compensation. That said, compensation of our nonmanagement directors is described in the proxy statement beginning on Page 34. As described there, we do not calculate Director compensation based on hours but rather as an annual retainer. In designing our compensation program for directors, we target the market median of our comparator group. Finally, half of our directors' annual retainers are equity-based, which is intended to directly align our interest with those of shareholders. As to the pandemic, during that time, we did increase the frequency of our formal and informal communications with management. And we believe this practice helped the Board stay apprised of management thinking and decisions during an especially dynamic time.

Great. Thank you, Chuck. Next up, we have 4 presubmitted comments and questions relating to executive compensation. The first one reads: Why are the executives of Brighthouse paid as much as they are in light of the losses that Brighthouse has experienced over the last 2 years? It doesn't seem an equitable thing for the stockholders who own the company. Second, the goals for share-based compensation and STI clearly do not align with shareholder values. When will these goals change to align with ownership values and not be a low bar for inflated management compensation? Third, why is there such a disparity between what the CEO and other top management salaries and what the actual workers earn? Fourth, after the effects of the pandemic for the last year with millions out of work or remotely involved only, do you still intend to increase your compensation? And what have you done to deserve it? And that's the end of the 4 questions.

Okay. Several points there. First, the Board is quite pleased with the progress that management has made on executing its strategy. And we believe that, that strategy will deliver long-term shareholder value. As for the GAAP accounting losses you mentioned, Brighthouse has always placed an emphasis on managing to statutory accounting results and the production of cash, which we believe are appropriate measures of the company's financial condition and performance. Our balance sheet is strong, and we have returned over $1.1 billion to our stockholders through repurchases of common stock since the announcement of our first stock buyback authorization in August of 2018. Under GAAP accounting, we record net derivative gains and losses on our hedges in income. And as a result, we generally will have net losses in quarters when the markets are up and net income in quarters when the markets are down, regardless of the company's actual economic performance. Turning to our executive compensation program. We believe the compensation of our named executive officers is appropriate. The proxy statement describes our compensation programs and policies, including how we generally target compensation to the market median, our benchmarking practices, and our pay-for-performance compensation philosophy that is intended to directly align the interest and incentives of our named executive officers with the achievement of the company's short- and long-term business goals. Regarding the comment about aligning goals with shareholder value. As discussed in the proxy statement, the majority of our CEO's target total direct compensation and a significant portion of our other named executive officers' target compensation is delivered in the form of stock-based incentives, which align executives' interest directly with stockholders' interests. With respect to incentive compensation metrics, we choose metrics that are linked to Brighthouse's strategic objectives. We believe the underlying goals for each metric were appropriately rigorous and represented a significant challenge for management to achieve. And as part of our annual review and approval of our incentive compensation metrics and targets, the Compensation and Human Capital Committee considers feedback from our shareholders as well as the results of the say-on-pay vote, which was very strong last year with more than 97% stockholder support. With regard to the ratio of the CEO's 2020 compensation to the median of the annual total compensation of all employees, our CEO pay ratio is actually the lowest among all the companies in our comparator group. Finally, as to whether executive compensation will increase, 2021 target compensation was disclosed in the proxy statement. And we believe this compensation program continues to align with shareholder interests.

Okay. Thank you, Chuck. I'm going to read now our final presubmitted question in regards to the proposals, and it relates to our clawback policy. It reads as follows: I would like to see your clawback policy specifically stipulate any sexual misconduct. That's the end of the comment.

Yes. Brighthouse does not tolerate sexual harassment or misconduct of any kind. Sexual misconduct is a violation of our code of conduct, which is available to see on our website and, thus, is subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination for cause. In that event, all unvested short-term and long-term incentive awards are subject to forfeiture. While our clawback policy per se does not explicitly mention sexual misconduct, it does cover misconduct that results in material reputational harm. Our Compensation and Human Capital Committee will consider your feedback though as it reviews our policies.

Okay. Thank you, Chuck. I'm reviewing the portal now, and I do not see any additional questions relating to the proposal. The polls are about to close. So if you have not voted, please do so. I'm now going to allow about a minute to let any shareholders who wish to vote to do so. And as a reminder, we will be addressing general comments and questions following Eric's remarks to the group. [Voting]

Okay. About 25 more seconds, and then we'll close the polls. [Voting]

All right. About 10 seconds left, and then we're going to close them. [Voting]

Okay. Chuck, I think we can close the polls now. I'll turn it to you.

Great. Thank you, Burt. The time now is 8:24, and I declare the polls closed. Burt at this time, would you please present the preliminary report of the proxy vote?

Yes. According to the preliminary report of the vote that was provided to me by the inspector of election, all proposals have passed in accordance with the recommendation of the Board of Directors. Specifically, each of the 8 director nominees has been elected, and proposals 2 and 3 have been approved. The final vote totals will be included in a Form 8-K that we will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 4 business days following today's meeting.

Great. The matters for a vote of the stockholders are now concluded. So at this time, I'd like to invite our President, CEO and fellow Board member, Eric Steigerwalt, to address the meeting. After Eric concludes his remarks, as Burt indicated, we'll address any stockholder questions received through the online portal. Eric?

Thanks, Chuck, and good morning, everyone. Thank you all for joining Brighthouse Financial's 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. I hope you're all well and staying safe. Let me begin today by thanking all of you for your continued support of Brighthouse Financial. As the events of the past year have shown, our mission to help people achieve financial security has never been more critical. I would also like to take a moment to thank our employees for their resilience and unrelenting commitment to delivering for our customers, partners and communities despite the challenges of the past year. Brighthouse remains focused on serving our customers and partners during this difficult period and beyond. And to all of our distribution partners, I would like to extend a special thank you for your outstanding partnership. As challenging as these times have been, there is much that we can be proud of at Brighthouse Financial. Last year, we provided assistance to help our communities meet some of their most pressing needs. The Brighthouse Financial Foundation made financial contributions to more than 40 nonprofits with a focus on those that support COVID-19 relief and racial equity. Grants provided by the Brighthouse Financial Foundation and Brighthouse Financial corporate contributions totaled nearly $2 million last year, making it our most impact full year yet. Over the past year, our employees also continue to find ways to volunteer and give back to our communities. I am incredibly proud of their spirit of service, which aligns with Brighthouse Financial's commitment to make a positive impact in the places where we live and work. We continue to support our employees throughout the pandemic by providing them with mental health support, encouraging them to use vacation days, and offering an allowance to help them purchase home office equipment while our offices remain temporarily closed. With that, I would like to review highlights of our performance in 2020. Brighthouse had a strong 2020. We continued to execute our strategy and delivered solid results, including maintaining balance sheet strength, growing sales, expanding our distribution network, prudently managing our expenses, and repurchasing more of our common stock, all while navigating the challenging environment brought on by the pandemic. And we continued to deliver strong results in the first quarter of 2021. Among our significant accomplishments in 2020, we repurchased approximately $473 million of our common stock, a reduction of roughly 17% of shares outstanding relative to year-end 2019. We continued to repurchase more of our stock in 2021. As discussed during our most recent earnings call regarding our first quarter 2021 results, since the announcement of our first stock repurchase authorization in August of 2018, through this past May 7, we have repurchased more than $1.1 billion of our common stock. This represents a reduction of more than 29% of shares outstanding from the time we became an independent public company. In 2020, we also completed the revision of our variable annuity hedging strategy, significantly reducing the risk profile of the company. In addition, we ended 2020 with approximately $8.6 billion of combined statutory total adjusted capital, with a combined risk-based capital or RBC ratio of 487%, above our target of between 400% to 450% in normal markets. We also achieved run rate expense reductions of $166 million relative to our first year as an independent public company, exceeding our target of $150 million. And we are proud of the significant progress we have made in our multiyear effort to implement our future state operations and technology platform. Turning to sales. We delivered another year of strong sales growth despite the challenging environment. We achieved annuity sales of approximately $9.1 billion, exceeding our 2020 target and a 25% increase over 2019. Life insurance sales were approximately $56 million, which was below our 2020 target, but a 124% increase over 2019. We also continued to enhance our product portfolio with the addition of 2 new products: First, we entered the independent marketing organization distribution channel with Brighthouse SecureAdvantage 6-Year Fixed Indexed Annuity. We also introduced Brighthouse SimplySelect, a term life insurance product available online through Policygenius. The launch of these products expands our distribution footprint and further diversifies our business mix. Continuing our focus on building and expanding strategic relationships, in 2020, we announced our selection by BlackRock to help deliver its LifePath Paycheck, an investment solution designed to provide millions of American workers with simplified access to lifetime income throughout their retirement. We are thrilled to expand our relationship with BlackRock through this significant innovation in retirement investing. Also, in March of this year, we announced the availability of our annuities in SIMON's Marketplace, which is another exciting collaboration for Brighthouse. SIMON offers a cutting-edge solution featuring built-in tools and analytics that demonstrate the financial security that diversifying a portfolio with annuities can provide. Over time, leveraging the SIMON platform further broadens our distribution footprint and helps make retirement planning more scalable for financial professionals. We also continued to advance our environmental, social and governance strategy, which is a key focus for Brighthouse. As we've said, in early 2020, we established an Office of Sustainability to lead our efforts to formally incorporate ESG considerations into our strategy. Since then, we have made significant progress in our sustainability journey. As part of our work in this area, this past April, we launched a new web page, available on our corporate website, that represents the first comprehensive disclosure of Brighthouse's sustainability practices. These disclosures have been guided by feedback from our stockholders as well as the results of a thorough assessment of our sustainability and ESG factors that are most significant for our company and impactful on our business. As our sustainability journey continues, we look forward to sharing more on our progress. Lastly and importantly, we remain focused on continuing to advance diversity, equity and inclusion throughout Brighthouse. In 2020, I proudly signed on to the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion pledge, which is one of the many steps we are taking at Brighthouse to help drive change in this critical area. In addition, we remain committed to influencing positive change by helping to create opportunity in our communities. For example, last year, the Brighthouse Financial Foundation committed $500,000 to organizations that support black and African-American members of our communities, a commitment that we have exceeded, with funding to date topping $600,000. We realize that there is always more work to be done. And we continue in our commitment to increase representation of underrepresented groups across our company and to foster an inclusive culture where diverse backgrounds are celebrated, and all of our employees feel welcomed, heard, and respected. In closing, I'm very pleased with the progress we made last year in executing our strategy and delivering on our mission as we navigated a challenging environment. Thank you again for joining us and for your continued support, ownership, and interest in Brighthouse Financial.

Thank you, Eric. I will now open the meeting for any additional stockholder questions. Please follow the procedures that are noted on the stockholder portal. So Burt, do we have any questions?

Yes, Chuck, we do. We have several presubmitted questions, and these all generally relate to business and management. I'll be directing them to Eric. So Eric, the first comment and question relates to strategy and compensation metrics. It reads as follows: I'm supremely disappointed in the negative $1.1 billion of retained earnings as of Q1 2021. Your attempt at cost-cutting by focusing on corporate expense is only is laughable. The continuing TSA charges support the thought that management and the Board do not know what they are doing. And you want us to approve the current slate of Board members and the [ pay ]. Seriously? Who cares about NAIC results. There is no NAIC market for capital. Question, what is your emergency turnaround plan?

Okay. The $1.1 billion retained deficit is the result of our GAAP losses. Under GAAP accounting, certain liabilities are less sensitive to market movements and do not fully offset the changes in the value of our hedges. As Chuck mentioned, given the inclusion of net derivative gains and losses in GAAP accounting, we generally have net losses in quarters when markets are up and net income in quarters when markets are down, regardless of the company's actual performance. Again, our emphasis is on managing to statutory accounting and for reduction of cash, which we believe is the appropriate measure of the company's financial condition and performance. With respect to an emergency turnaround plan, we do not have one as there is no emergency at the company whatsoever. In fact, we believe the company is in great shape if you look at capital, sales and our other results. We are very proud of the progress we have made and continue to make, and we remain focused on executing our strategy to deliver long-term shareholder value.

Thanks, Eric. Next, we have a question regarding long-term care or LTC insurance premiums. It reads as follows: Why does the LTC insurance premium increase dramatically every year? What is management doing to contain the increase in annual premium?

Okay. Rate increases are sought only when they are actuarially justified. Brighthouse understands that rate increases on LTC policies may be a challenge for some policyholders. And to provide flexibility to our customers, we offer options to give them a choice to find a premium and benefit level that works for their individual needs.

All right. Thank you. Next up, Eric, we have a question in regard to our runoff business. It reads: What is the runoff, which seems to cause a lot of negative earnings? I'm not sure how well managed Brighthouse is with the current management and the Board of Directors.

Okay. Again, we believe Brighthouse is in great shape for all the reasons mentioned previously. Specifically with respect to the runoff segment, it consists of legacy products brought over when we separated from our former parent company. These are separately managed products that Brighthouse has never actively sold since separation, and they include the following products: structured settlements, pension risk transfer contracts, certain company-owned life insurance policies, certain funding agreements, and universal life with secondary guarantee policies.

Okay. Thank you, Eric. Next, we have a question kind of around Black Lives Matter. It reads: Did Brighthouse donate any money to Black Lives Matter? If so, did you research the background and philosophy of the group before you donated to assure that they supported the democratic ideals of America?

All right. Let me say, Brighthouse is firmly committed to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in our company and supporting our communities. To that end, we have made meaningful financial contributions to organizations that support black and African-American members of our communities. And I am so proud that our foundation exceeded the $500,000 commitment it made last year to support such organizations. I'm also proud that in 2020, Brighthouse and our foundation increased support to organizations that advance social justice efforts and expanded our engagement with organizations that directly support black members of our communities through advancing racial equity in youth development and mentoring, and support for historically black colleges and universities and black-led nonprofits. We thoroughly vet all the organizations that we make corporate contributions to and that receive grants from our foundation.

Thank you, Eric. Next, we have 3 comments and questions regarding diversity, equity and inclusion, and I'm going to read all 3. First, you have stated that you're supporting and emphasizing equality in your workforce. This is a long-standing policy of all decent and moral companies. To me, it means that all people are treated the same regardless of their physical attributes, social, and political beliefs. The only considerations given in treatment and evaluations are performance, knowledge and value to the company. In other words, equal opportunity to succeed. You have now added equity and social justice to your beliefs. That will provide equal outcomes based on physical attributes such as race, skin color, gender or religious beliefs. There should be equity for all employees. Are you prepared to now provide equal compensation to all employees, from janitor to CEO, independent of their contributions? To me, this suggests the promise of socialism that always leads to communism. Stay out of politics. Second, concentrate on efficiently and competently running an insurance business and not on fulfilling woke initiatives, such as pluralism, diversity, and other affirmative action. Third, what systemic sustainable efforts are being made to improve DE&I in governance and upper management? That's the end.

Okay, Burt. First, our focus at Brighthouse on fostering a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace is by no means new for us. We committed to these goals and have been committed to them since our launch as an independent public company. And we continue to be committed to them. We believe this is not just the right thing to do. It's also good for our company. By creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive culture, we believe we are better able to attract and retain talent. In addition, we believe that diverse perspectives better position us to innovate and provide valuable solutions that meet the needs of financial professionals and their clients. In fostering an inclusive culture, we want our talent, and that means every person who works at Brighthouse, to feel welcome, heard and respected. We believe that, that is critical for many reasons, including for engagement, for fueling careers and for driving business growth. As I have said, though, none of this is a new focus for Brighthouse. Since our inception, we have taken steps, and we will continue to take steps to further enhance diversity, equity and inclusion, which we believe is important to our long-term success.

All right. Thanks, Eric. we have another question regarding supporting diverse individuals. It reads: What steps do you make to support people of color and LGBT individuals?

Okay. There are many ways in which we proudly support our diverse employees and communities. I won't list them all in the interest of time, but I am going to give you a couple of examples. To start, we are focused on increasing representation of underrepresented groups across Brighthouse. As part of that effort, we seek diverse slates of candidates for open positions and are focused on developing a strong pipeline of internal talent. We also allow and encourage all our employees to self-identify aspects of diversity, including race and ethnicity, veteran status, disability, gender identity and sexual orientation to ensure that we are providing the support needed to foster an inclusive environment. And all Brighthouse employees are required to complete unconscious bias and allyship training. In addition, we have a diversity, equity and inclusion council that includes employees from across our organization, who collaborate to create events, programs and development opportunities that impact the diverse makeup of our company and further enhance our inclusive culture. We also provide financial support to positively impact our diverse communities, including to nonprofits that support the LGBTQIA+ community. Again, while we don't have time to go through everything we're doing at Brighthouse, I invite you to visit the Corporate Responsibility section on our website for more information.

Okay. Thank you, Eric. We have 2 questions now related to strategy and dividends. I'll read the first: Will any future acquisitions be made in the current 4-year period to grow the base of assets? And if so, what type of business segments could it be? And second, why isn't BHF paying a dividend? When will you start distributing dividends?

All right. We remain focused on executing on our strategy, which is to unlock capital, repurchase stock, rationalize expenses, and sell new business. We do not currently have any plans for an acquisition, though over time, that may change. With respect to capital return to shareholders, we do not currently have any plans to pay a dividend as our focus for capital return has been on repurchasing our common stock. We are very pleased that we have repurchased more than $1.1 billion of our common stock since the announcement of our first stock repurchase authorization in August of 2018 through May 7 of this year. This represents a reduction of more than 29% of the shares outstanding from the time we became an independent public company. Any future declaration in payment of dividends, or other distributions, or returns of capital will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on and be subject to our financial condition, results of operations, et cetera.

All right. Thanks, Eric. We have another question presubmitted regarding voting rights. It reads as follows: Do you support automatic voter registration? What -- or have you spoken out in opposition to efforts to restrict voting rights? What actions have you taken?

To reiterate, Brighthouse is firmly committed to the values of diversity, equity and inclusion. And I refer you to my earlier response on how we promote those values, both in our company and in our communities.

Okay. Thank you, Eric. I'm going to read our final presubmitted question. We do have another question that has come in during the meeting, but this is the final presubmitted, and it regards demographic disclosures. It reads as follows: In terms of diversity, what is the composition on policyholders, e.g., African-American, Asians, Hispanics, white, relative to the composition of staffing, which appears to be incessant of 75% white. Are staff of Hispanic origins considered white for classification of the workforce?

Okay. So we are prohibited from asking applicants or policyholders about their race or ethnicity. And thus, we do not collect such data. Regarding the second part of your question, our employees' self-identification categories include a selection for Hispanic Latino. So if someone identifies in that way, it would be reflected in our workforce composition, which is available on our website.

Okay. Thank you, Eric. As I mentioned, that concludes our presubmitted questions. I'm now going to review the portal and convey any general questions. Eric, there's one, regarding the Brighthouse Foundation, and it reads as follows: How is the Brighthouse Foundation funded?

Is that the whole question, Burt?

I'm sorry. Yes, that is the whole question.

Okay. The Brighthouse Foundation was funded by an initial grant from Brighthouse, Inc. back when -- right when we became an independent public company in 2017. It will be funded in the future by increases in its investment portfolio and potentially further grants from the company at some point in the future.

Okay. Eric. And there's one more comment, not a question, and I'll read it now. Not a question, just a statement. Thank you for your hard work and financial commitment in the area of inclusion and diversity as well as social engagement. Keep up the good work. And it's signed [ Loren Tope ]. Eric, I'll let you respond to that.

Well, I would just say thank you. Thank you very much for writing in to us.

Fantastic. Okay. There are no further questions. So Chuck, I'm going to turn it back to you now.

Yes. Thank you, Burt. And thank you, stockholders for all of those questions. Appreciate it. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I thank you all for attending this Annual Meeting of Stockholders, and the meeting is now adjourned. Have a wonderful day.

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.